Weird Weather

March has often been considered a month of unpredictable weather as we move from winter into spring, and this March looks like it will be no exception. Over the weekend, tornadoes ripped through the midwest, but tornadoes are also possible in Colorado as early as March. CoSPL has information about tornadoes around the world, from the CU-Boulder Natural Hazards Center. Publications focusing on March tornadoes include Risk Factors for Death in the 1 March 1997 Arkansas Tornadoes and Multi-Organizational Coordination During the Response to the March 28, 2000 Fort Worth Tornado. We also have information on Colorado tornadoes, including the 1991 report Lessons Learned from Limon: A Tornado After-Action Report, available to check out from CoSPL.

March is also Colorado’s snowiest month, and who can forget the great March 2003 blizzard. Two serials provided analysis after the storm: Colorado Climate (2004 issue) and Colorado Heritage (Fall 2003). The article in Heritage offered a fascinating comparison of the March 2003 blizzard with the great blizzard of December 1913.

The wildfire season also begins around March, and CoSPL has a variety of resources on wildfires.